Today was another rest day…for the car, we were off to the Magic Kingdom 10 minutes walk away.

We were up at 7:40 and by 8:40 we were on our way. We arrived at 8:50 part way through the opening ceremony and by the time we had made our way through the bag check the ceremony was over and the park was open.

We made our way over to Fantasyland and as were too early for Pooh we went over to Peter Pan. After enjoying our flight high over London we made our way over to Snow White. As our wooden car started off I heard the woman behind me saying to her daughter “Now there are going to be some witches in here but it’s alright because I’m here with you.” Either this settled the child or she wasn’t frightened in the first place because I didn’t hear any signs of distress coming from behind. One word of advice – remember to look up at the final scene, I nearly missed Dopey waving goodbye to us. After Snow White we walked over to It’s A Small World. I enjoy this ride and I particularly like the Hawaiian version of the music. After Small World we made our way back to Pooh, which was now open and there was around a 2 minute wait. Pooh is my favourite character and I really enjoyed this ride but I missed the picture of Toad handing over the deeds to Pooh, I must check where that is for next time.

It was now just before 10, we had done nearly all of the rides in Fantasyland and all except Pooh had been a walk on. We had a sit down near Mickey’s Toon Town Fair and when the rope dropped at 10:00 we walked through and got to the station just as a train pulled in. We took our seats and were soon off for the journey via Main Street to Frontierland.

At Frontierland we went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which was showing a 20 minute wait but it was more like 5. Both Dad and I had enjoyed this last time and it didn’t disappoint this time, I think it is a great fun ride that even those who “don’t do coasters” can enjoy. After Big Thunder we walked past Splash Mountain and stood watching the logs coming down the drop. Now Splash Mountain was just opening when we were here before and I had chickened out of it but had it on the list of attractions for today. Having stood and looked at the drop again I decided that I needed more time to think about it so we wandered off.

We made our way round to Adventureland and into Pirates of the Caribbean. Unusually there was no Cast Member here directing people which row to stand in and it was left to parties to sort themselves out. As we got to the front of the queue a family told us there was room for two at the front but as I went to get into the boat the ride operator told me we would have to wait for the next one and closed the gates. I kind of lost the Disney Magic for a second or two but it soon returned when we got on the boat and were on our way. I think the waterfall Davy Jones effect at the beginning is brilliantly done and the Captain Jack additions seem to blend in really well.

After Pirates we wandered round to Haunted Mansion, which again was a walk-on and more by luck than judgement I managed to be on the right side of the stretching room to be one of the first out. The ride was great and I even remembered to look out for the Hidden Mickey in the ballroom scene.

Once we had done Haunted Mansion it was time to start thinking food so we stopped off at Columbia Harbour House where I had an Anchors Aweigh sandwich (Tuna) and Dad had a Starboard Deck (Ham, Broccoli slaw and Cheese).

Suitably refreshed we did a bit of shopping, where the pin collection grew somewhat and as we left the park to have an afternoon break I decided it was time to give the Photo Pass we had been given at Test Track an airing.

before wandering round to Liberty Square. We found a spot but it was still baking hot and we were in the sun so we moved round to the Frontierland Shooting Arcade which was a bit more shaded and still offered a great view.
After the parade had gone by we went into the pin shop behind us where I bought an absolute mountain of pins which, despite me offering to pay, gave the bank roll another severe beating. From the shop we wandered back to Fantasyland and into Philharmagic with only a short wait. I really think Disney’s 3D films are great although why is it that they all involve squirting water on you at some point! :lol:

Today was all about doing a lot in small stages so we again strolled back to the hotel and had a beer in the bar before going up to the room to relax and re-charge ready for the evening’s entertainment.

We were back out at 6:00 and back in the Magic Kingdom 10 minutes later where I had set my heart on eating at El Pirata y El Perico. Unfortunately I hadn’t spotted that it is only open seasonally and tonight it was closed. :mad: A quick look at the map and a decision was made to detour to Pecos Bill Café which I remembered reading was a good place to eat. I had the Chicken Wrap, Dad had a BBQ pork sandwich and we both had cokes for $19.36 total.

After eating I realised that Liberty Belle was leaving in 5 minutes so we boarded for a short cruise to fill in time. This was a really nice voyage and I loved the “duelling whistles”.

After the voyage we found a spot on the wall outside Hall of Presidents and settled down to wait for Spectromagic. We had an hour to wait but the time soon passed, helped by the antics of a particularly funny Jungle Cruise skipper who was on crowd entertainment duty. I also spotted him as a ride operator on Pirates later in the trip.

After the parade we scampered round to the Tomorrowland bridge and found an open spot to watch Wishes. I had intended to video the show but part way through when my camera informed me it was switching itself of to “save the battery” I realised that I hadn’t pressed the record button properly. Ah well, that’s the beauty of staying just 10 minutes walk from MK – we can just come back another night.

Once the fireworks had finished we had a sit on the bridge and waited for the crowds to thin out as we had no reason to rush away. After 10 minutes or so we started strolling back and with the help of walking through the shops on the left side of Main Street we were soon at the exit. As we got back to the Contemporary we saw loads of cars leaving the car park which I presume were people that had been watching Wishes from the California Grill.

After a full but easy day we were in bed by 10:45 ready for another early start tomorrow.

Tomorrow “I need to do that over.”

19-10-2008, 09:31 PM

Ilovesnowwhitej

Pictures :thumbs_up: I love its a small world, its my favorite ride ever i know most people dont like it, but i do. You were so lucky being so close to MK 10min brilliant.
xx